


Involved (Cherub AU Book 1)

by SteampunkWilson



Series: Camp Camp CHERUB Au: CUBS [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: My First Work in This Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-06-29 20:03:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15736416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteampunkWilson/pseuds/SteampunkWilson
Summary: Book 1/6After Max's parents try to kill him, and then are killed by the new girl next door and her team of bizarre kids with a badass attitude, he and the four other kids in his apartment block get dragged into a top secret organisation for child super spies. Everyone seems to be keen on them staying out of danger, but the team is determined to get to the bottom of their parent's 'deaths'. And maybe become agents themselves.Based off the book series: CHERUB by Robert Muchamore, I changed the organisation name in this to something more fitting.Ships will emerge in future books, but only briefly hinted on in this one.





	1. Ugly Duckling Cutter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for checking out my first fic on this site! If the usual formula seems off to you, it's because I've never used this site before. If anyone has any tips, it would be greatly appreciated :)
> 
> All the kids will be in this, but half are already agents, and the other half lead... 'normal lives'.

"Bye mum, bye dad. Off to school!" Maxwell Sharma called as he reached the door. No response, as usual. Max raised his voice. "Goodbye you inconvenient assholes!"  
Still no response. The pair were still passed out on the sofa, it seemed. Max sighed. When he had been ten, his parents had just changed, one day kind and normal and caring, the next, abandonment, not speaking to him, barely acknowledging his existence. It was like they had been... replaced.  
No, they had simply just seen their son for the little shit he was. At the age he was now, twelve, Max had figured out the truth and accepted it with miserable reluctance. He had tried though, to talk to them, but with no response. They either pottered about all day, were out all day, or slept all day. They weren't a family anymore. Just housemates, pretty much.  
Max sighed and slammed the door behind him, hard. He took a breath in the smelly, dingy corridor outside his apartment. Just... one minute. One minute to collect himself and prepare himself for another day of torture.  
The door across the hall banged open. Max sighed, eyes still shut. Apparently, the universe couldn't even give him that.  
"Hey Max!" Eleven year old, turquoise haired, pint sized ball of fun and chaos, Nicolette Van Barra exclaimed a she bounced into the hallway, excitable as ever. "You will not BELIEVE what happened last night!"  
"Aliens invaded?" Max asked, opening an eye. "And took Space Kid far away to be among his own kind?"  
"Nope." Nikki shook her head. Max sighed.  
"I have no idea then."  
"My mum got back in touch with my dad!" Nikki exclaimed excitably. "They got talking and they've decided to try and make it work again! I'll finally get to meet him! Isn't that awesome?!"  
"Yeah, it's brilliant." Max said, unsmiling as always. At least SOMEONE'S parents gave a fuck.  
Max kind of wished Space Kid had been abducted and taken to a different galaxy instead.  
Speaking of Space Kid...  
The lift at the end of the hallway dinged and the aspiring astronaut shot out.  
"Hey SK!" Nikki called. Space Kid, or Neil Armstrong Junior, as no one called him, bounded past.  
"Sorry mission control, no time to talk! I've got to get to the solar system before the aliens catch up!" The ten year old disappeared down the stairs. Nikki giggled. Max allowed himself a smile and made the cuckoo sign to Nikki. Space Kid was obviously playing one of his space games again.  
"Well, we waiting for anyone?" Nikki asked. Max looked at the door next to his own.  
"Nah, Ered seems to be staying home today." The pair turned away from that door and headed downstairs, towards the door and the street beyond, and the life waiting for them beyond that.  
Downstairs were the two remaining kids who lived in the building, Nerris Cattouack and Preston Goodplay, who both looked pretty pissed about something.  
"Hey guys." Nikki waved. "You fallen out?"  
"You could say that." Nerris muttered.  
"I don't see what your problem is! You weren't exactly using your Smoug costume!"  
"I was GOING to until you wrecked it, you asshole-" Max sighed bitterly and inserted an earbud from his cracked MP3. As usual, it was going to be a long day!

.............................................................................................

Max arrived home a lot later than the others, due to an unfair and impending detention he had received. He slowly climbed the stairs, his bag heavy on his shoulder, filled with schoolbooks and other weights of life. Max was about to unlock his door when he heard music coming from the apartment next door. He grinned. My Chemical Romance. Ered had great taste.  
Ered's door opened to reveal the teenage girl herself. Tall, grinning, round about fifteen and an all round cool girl, she seemed to fill the doorway, blocking out the warmth that flowed from her apartment behind. She lived alone. Lucky bitch.  
"Hey Max." Ered said with a smile. "I thought I heard someone out there."  
"Oh hey Ered. Skipping school again?" Ered flipped her hair back.  
"I had better things to do." She said. "You wanna come in for a drink?"  
"Nah, I'm good." Max said. He gestured towards his own apartment. "Homework and shit to do."  
"OK." Ered gave a nod. "Have fun being a normal kid." She closed the door.  
"Haha, normal." Max gave a harsh laugh. "In her fucking dreams."  
Max entered his own apartment and saw, to his surpise, his mum stood by the kitchen side.  
"Oh hey bitch." He said casually. "Finished fucking around?"  
For the first time in two years, his mother did something Max didn't expect.  
She looked at him. And seemed angry too.  
Max wasn't fazed.  
"Can I help you?" He said. His mother gave a tiny laugh.  
"Oh there is one thing you can do for me." She came towards him. Max, uncertain, took a step back.  
"Erm, what's that?" He asked, his hand scrabbling about behind him for a knife, a rolling pin, anything that could be used as a weapon.  
A cookie cutter. Oh thanks world. great help.  
"You can die, you little cunt!" His mother screeched, and lunged at him.  
Max gave a yell and ducked, cookie cutter clutched in his hand. It was duck shaped. He had a bizarre flashback to when he was younger, his mother sitting with him and reading him the ugly duckling, and jokingly comparing his father to a duckling. Now she was coming at him with a knife... wait. Where the hell did the knfe come from?!  
And where was her hand?  
Wait.  
Not, it was crazy impossible.  
It the three seconds Max had been rolling across the floor, her hand had somehow become a blade and she was swiping towards him.  
"NO!" Max yelled, scrambling away from her until his back hit the cupboard. "HELP!"  
The door seemed to explode.  
Both boy and... woman? Robot? turned to see Ered stood in the doorway, brandishing what looked like a shiny silver gun.  
"ERED!" Max yelled. "I don't know what happened, I-"  
"Get out of here Max." Ered said in a cool, commanding tone. "Now."  
"But what-"  
"NOW!" Ered yelled, the gun in her hand. Max's mother had turned to her now, her knife hand poised to attack...  
Ered fired the gun. His mother fell back, smacking her head on the kitchen sideboard. But she stood and turned and Max saw...  
The whole left side of her head had been smashed in, leaving a corner sized dent in her skull.  
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Max screamed, scrambling for the door. But he paused, his hand on the knob. He saw his father come in, his hand was also a knife and he was marching with a wide awake, determined confidence Max had never seen in him before. Ered took an adgitated breath and shot twice at Max's mother, before sliding across the floor, hitting his father hard in the crotch. He didn't even flinch.  
His mother, however, collapsed.  
"Mum?" Max said, taking a step away from the door, away from safety. "Are you... OK?"  
She lay unmoving, eyes wide open.  
"Max, get back!" Ered yelled, still in full swing battle with his father. "She's deactivated, but she's still dangerous!"  
"Deactivated! Dangerous!" Max whirled round in a burst of fury. "She's my mother, she'd never, she'd never..."'  
But she had, hadn't she? Tried to kill her own son. Just proved how little he meant to anyone.  
Max's father's knife hand swiped at Ered's head, but she managed to dodge so it's razor sharp edge only sliced off some of her hair.  
"You wreched cunt!" Ered gasped, watching his blonde and purple locks fall to the ground. "I just had that dyed!"  
She kicked the man back and shot at his head. He flew through the air with the force of the blast and landed against the far wall, in the same state as Max's mother. Ered took a deep breath and put her gun back through a loop in her belt that Max hadn't noticed before. She came towards him and grabbed his arm.  
"Come on."  
"What? What he hell are you doing?"  
"I have to get you out of here. We came here thinking we could stop the uprise, we're too late. They're on the move."  
"We? Who's we. Who's they, I... WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"  
Ered sighed and turned to the fuming and confused pre-teen with a frustrated expression on her face. "Max, I can't tell you all now, for two reasons. One, we're in danger. Two, others are in danger and depending on us. Three, I'm not sure if that's allowed. But if you stay here, you will die."  
She tugged at his arm.  
"But what about my stuff-"  
"You can come back for it later." Ered practically dragged him out of his apartment. She then whipped out a walkie talkie from her belt and pressed a button.  
"Miller to Nurfington, do you read?" A squawking sound came through the walkie talkie and Ered frowned. "OK, we'll meet you there. Yeah, I had to grab a kid in danger-"  
"Kid?!" Max spluttered. Ered shot him a look that said 'be quiet!'. "Yeah, that was him. Oh, yeah, OK, get everyone in the car and-"  
A scream cut off her words, a scream coming from the apartment just acorss the hall.  
"Nikki!" Max cried, suddenly fearing for the girl's safety.  
Ered shoved the walkie talkie into her belt.  
"Let's go." She said, and kicked down Nikki's door.


	2. Miller to Backup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ered and Max have to save Nikki, then meet up with Ered's team of badass, super spies. Lives need to be saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit earlier than I expected to post, but still, don't expect updates every day. Thank you to those who showed their appreciation for this story, I'm quite excited about the future of it and later books in the series.

Nikki had just started to relax after a long day at the torturous school she was forced to attend, removed her school clothes and changed into something comfier, grabbed a snack and leapt onto the sofa to switch on her favourite Nature programme. She wanted to learn the ways of the hippo before she met her dad at the weekend. To show off.  
It was all going normal until her mother showed up out of nowhere with a knife.  
Nikki screamed and jumped away, towards the television, trying to run, to hide, but there was nowhere to go an her mother was coming at her with a robotic stance of death.  
"HELP!" Nikki cried, grabbing the remote and throwing it at her mother. It did nothing. The woman just kept coming. Nikki whimpered in fear. She was going to die here, for reasons she didn't understand.  
"Mum, no-" The door burst open.  
"Nikki!" Max cried and Ered, the girl from across the hall, skidded in between Nikki and her mother. She raised her gun to fire it, but Nikki's mother knocked it from her hand with a swipe of her knife, cutting her across the face. Ered wiped her face and looked at the blood on her fingers.  
"You sadistic fuck!" She cried, and kicked out at the woman, sending her flying over the sofa. Max ran forward and pulled Nikki to her feet.  
"Nikki, come on!" He tried to pull her towards the door. She just stared after her mother, shellshocked.  
"She just came out of nowhere... I didn't... I don't know... why would she..." Her eyes remained staring at the spot where her mother had last been. Max sighed and pulled Nikki towards himself.  
"Come on Nik, we've got to go, I don't really know what's happening, but I know we can't stay here."  
Nikki's mother reappeared, her robotic death face seeming even more fiercely set.  
"OK, now you've just made me mad!" Ered snarled. Nikki's mother leapt over the sofa and landed in front of the teenager, her other hand raised. The hand part flipped backwards (Nikki gave a frightened gasp) to reveal a spinning saw projecting from her wrist. She advanced on Ered, who was all that stood between the two kids and certain death.  
Nikki and Max screamed, Max more girly than he would have liked.  
Thankfully, Nikki's mother didn't seem interested in them. As Ered leapt to the side and ducked by the window, she turned to follow her.  
"Miller to anyone, urgent backup needed, I repeat, FUCKING HELP!" Ered yelled into her walkie talkie, but gave a yell as the saw came towards her head. She dropped the walkie talkie, and it was crushed by the woman's advancing foot.  
Max saw what was happening, saw that Ered needed help. He saw the TV and got an idea.  
"Nikki, help me lift this." He gripped the TV from underneath, lifting and staggering a little under it's weight. Nikki caught onto what he was doing and helped him. The machine was the old fashioned type, large and bulky. Max kicked it unplugged and they staggered over to the sofa.  
Ered was cornered, weaponless and defenceless. Nikki's mother advanced, raising the saw. The teenage girl covered her face, preparing for the end.  
Max and Nikki stood on the sofa, holding the TV between them.  
"NOW!" Max cried and they threw it. It caught Nikki's mother square on the head, crashing into her and sending her sprawling on the floor. She did not get up.  
Ered gasped in relief.  
"OK, spill it." Max demanded. "What the fuck is going on?! Are they like, robots or something?! And what does that gun do, and who are you talking to when you 'requested backup'?!"  
"Are you like, a spy or something?" Nikki asked excitedly, her usual demeanour returning. "Ooh, or a superhero-"  
"There's no time to explain." Ered said, standing up. "We need to go, before-"  
"Are you serious?!" Max crossed his arms angrily. Nikki took a quick look and attempted the same, but ended up looking like a demented rapper.  
Ered sighed and grabbed her gun off the floor. She sighed again at the sight of her smashed walkie talkie.  
"There will be answers guys, but not right now. We need to go. But," She seemed to hesitate. "OK, yes Nikki, I am a spy."  
The pair of them were so shocked by this that they followed Ered out of the apartment and into the corridor. From upstairs, they could hear shouts and smashes.  
"They've all gone!" Ered gasped. "Come on, run, out of here!"  
The three of them ran down the stairs and made it out of the building. Max looked back towards it, thinking of the kids who they had left, Nerris, Space Kid... Preston.  
A shout came from the third floor. Max, Nikki and Ered looked up to see Space Kid's apartment window open, and he was attempting to climb out.  
"Don't jump!" Max called, unaware if he was joking of not. Something seemed to push him, and Max saw the glint of a knife just above his head. Space Kid fell, but caught himself on a windowledge.  
"SHIT!" Ered cried. Space Kid's fingers gradually slipped and he fell.  
Injury would have been certain, if it were not for one thing.  
Just as the young boy was about to hit the ground, a figure darted forwards and caught him.  
Max and Nikki gasped, Ered too, but she was more relived than bewildered.  
The two people were on the ground. Space Kid rubbed his head to see that he had been saved by a boy of around his own age with a dark brown floppy fringe and bright blue eyes.  
"Whoa!" The boy exclaimed. "Guten Tag!"  
Ered came over towards the, and Max saw three other kids appearing behind them.  
"Hey guys!" Ered sounded very relived. "About time!"  
"Yeah, sorry," A tall boy with brown curly hair and cool, alien looking shades rubbed the back of his neck. "We had to grab some kids who were being attacked." He gestured towards two kids Max and Nikki hadn't noticed before.  
Preston and Nerris.  
"Guys! You're alright!" Nikki cried, helping Space kid to his feet. Nerris was bleeding from her forehead, but clutched a foam sword determinedly. Preston looked in shock.  
"Barely." Nerris muttered, and the five of them grouped together. Ered and her strange looking group turned towards them.  
"Guys, I want you to meet my team." Ered said. "This is Neil," She gestured to the boy with the shades, who tipped them forwards to wink at them.  
"Pretty cool huh? For a nerd?" He grinned. Max rolled his eyes and refused to look impressed.  
"Harrison," A boy wearing a top hat smiled and with a flick of his wrist, produced an ace of spades from... nowhere? Nerris scoffed.  
"Nurf," A tall and scary looking teen cracked his knuckles and gave them a nod.  
"Hey."  
"And Dolph." The shortest and seemingly youngest of the group was the boy who had saved Space Kid, who gave them a smile. Space Kid blushed a little and ducked shyly behind Nerris. Dolph said something to them in a complete different language.  
"Yeah, his English isn't great." Ered said. "But he's useful."  
"That's German, isn't it?" Asked Preston, who seemed to be recovering from his shock a little.  
Dolph nodded, looking pleased.  
"Right, shouldn't we be going?" Max stepped forwards. "You seemed pretty desperate to be off earlier."  
"Yeah, they'll be coming for us." Harrison said, looking nervously towards the buildings.  
Ered nodded.  
"Where's the car?"  
"Round the block."  
Ered beckoned the five newcomers, who were all in different states of bewilderment. "Well, are you guys coming or not?"  
Max nodded, determined not to be the burden in all this.  
"Right. Come on guys." He beckoned and the ten of them ran after the five kids, who drew up short when they rounded the corner.  
Five of the robot/adults were pulling a blue, seven seater Toyota apart at the seams.  
"Shit." Harrison gasped. "Bonquisha's going to kill us."  
"Another car." Neil tapped the side of his glasses. "A seven seater, west, eighty yards."  
"Come on." The ten of them ran the opposite way to discover the car Neil had described.  
Nurf managed to open the door and Neil leapt in, fiddling around with some wires.  
"Guys, they're coming!" Nikki cried pointing.  
"Shit!" Ered gasped. "Everyone in!"  
They all piled in. Even though it was a large car, there were lots of them and the result was being very squashed and people sitting on the floor who refused to sit on someone's lap.  
"Got it!" Neil cried, and the engine roared into life.  
"Step on it!"  
"Roger!"  
The car shot forwards. Max managed to swivel round from where he was cramped in the back. He saw the apartment block he had called home for the past twelve years, disappear round the corner. The adults he had counted on to take care of him, give chase with knives and saws for hands.  
His entire world just got interesting, it appeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have the full gang in there, and a few hints at future couples! Please leave comments, it's nice to read them :)


	3. Answers and Upset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang stops to eat and the new kids learn some stuff about CUBS and the mission. With some rather shocking discoveries that have quite the effect on them, scars that even Preston can't heal for Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MaxPres emerges!

Eventually, the car pulled over. They had been driving for hours, sticking to the speed limits, surprisingly safe for a bunch of child secret agents.  
Preston still couldn't get out of his head how ridiculous that was. SECRET AGENTS! SPIES! Who were CHILDREN! Sure, it made a good storyline for a novel or some shit, but the concept was ridiculous. The small German one didn't look any older than nine, but he and the others had crashed into his apartment after he had almost been murdered by his sweet old grandma, like a bunch of life saving maniacs.  
But Preston was squashed on the floor and his legs were SUPER stiff and he had cramp and pins and needles all over. He was so relieved when they finally stopped that he actually fell out of the car.  
"Ouch." He muttered, and accepted a hand up from Max. "Thanks." Max didn't look at him.  
"Why did we stop?" He asked Ered, who seemed to be in charge. "I thought we were going somewhere safe?"  
"We are." Ered said, sitting on the bonnet of the vehicle, Nurf joining her. Preston looked out. They were parked on a lone hilltop, a perfect view over the city. It was all lit up. Preston had never even left it. It looked great from up here.  
"So, what? We're stopping to admire the view?"  
"No, were stopping for dinner." The driving boy, Neil, hopped out of the car. "You expect me to drive all the way back to campus on an empty stomach?"  
"Campus?"  
Ered stiffened and spun around so fast she almost cricked her neck. "NEIL!"  
"What? Aren't we- Oh."  
Ered sighed. "Unbelievable!"  
"What?" Nikki said, climbing up to sit on the car's roof. "What's campus? Where you guys live?"  
The kids exchanged awkward glances.  
"Sort of." Ered said eventually. "It's where we eat, sleep, train, learn, hang out, where friends and enemies meet. The home for all CUBS agents."  
"Are we meant to be telling them?" Harrison asked from where he was rummaging in the glove compartment for something.  
"Ja, und Sie bohren uns immer über Protokoll." Dolph called from around the back of the vehicle. He emerged with a mobile in his hand and handed it to Harrison. "Here. Un phone."  
"Cheers." Harrison took it.  
"My decision, I'll take the fall." Ered said as Harrison dialled a number. "Now call and tell them the situation."  
"I was just about to."  
Ered turned back to the five newcomers.  
"CUBS is an organisation of child secret agents. Doesn't officially exist, but kid spies are very useful."  
"So you are... CUBS agents?" Nerris asked, trying to get her head around it all. Ered nodded.  
"Yes. Most missions are one or two individual agents working together, but you can form a team and go on team missions. This is my team."  
"I get it." Max gave a nod. "The strong leader, the muscle, the smart, sciency guy, the foreign guy and... the magic kid?"  
"That's right." Harrison said with a smile. Then he turned his attention back to the phone in his hand.  
"What does CUBS stand for?" Nikki asked. Ered shrugged.  
"Campbell's Underage Boy Spies." Neil said. "I think the guy who started it a hundred years ago was called Campbell, and only hired guys."  
"Patriorical." Nikki muttered. "Assholes."  
Ered gave her a little high five. Although she was the only girl in the group, she was easily the most capable and stood in charge quite firmly.  
"OK, now that's out of the way," Preston took a seat on the floor. "Didn't you mention dinner?"  
"Oh yeah, food!" Nikki jumped up and down on the roof, probably denting it.  
"There was a subway a mile or so back." Nurf offered. "I could run down there."  
"Take Harrison. There's ten sandwhiches to carry." Ered advised. A screaming sound came and everyone looked. Harrison was holding the phone a foot away from his ear and they could hear a woman screaming at the other end, something about cars, kids and "YOU THINK THAT'LL COME OUT OF MY DAMN POCKET?!".  
"Or maybe not Harrison." Ered advised and everyone laughed.

Half an hour later, all of the ten kids were sat on the hillside or in/on the vehicle, munching their way through meatball subs and crunchy cookies. The conversation was pretty much centred around questions of the CUBS campus and agents. Most of the questions were answered in as little detail as possible, some not answered at all. Preston leant against one of the wheels of the car, just finishing off his sandwich, when a glossed over detail came to mind.  
"So you guys are on a mission?" He asked, licking his lips. "What was it?"  
The agents exchanged glances.  
"OK, I will tell you." Neil said after a long while. "But you guys are SWORN to secrecy, legally that is. Even you, space boy." Already, Neil had figured out who the most incompetent member of their group was.  
"It's Space Kid, actually." Space Kid corrected. "But my real name is the same as yours!" Dolph gave a laugh.  
"What the fuck-" Neil sighed. "That's not the point, SPACE KID! You guys can't tell anyone!"  
"OK, OK, we won't tell!" Nerris held up a hand. "Who would we tell anyway?"  
"Good point." Ered said with a nod. "Take it away Neil."  
"OK." Neil sat down.  
"About a month ago, we were called for a new mission briefing. Most missions are the same sort of thing, make friends with the kid of some big drug dealer or terrorist and gain info to bring him down. In this case, the 'villain' is called Jeremy Fartz."  
The kids laughed.  
"I know right?" Neil said with a smirk. "He also has a load of health problems that I won't go into. Basically, he owns a huge building company and builds cheap apartments and barracks for doctors and the army and shit. He's responsible for the dump that you lot call home.  
But lately, officials have noticed that rival contractors have started to disappear for a few days, then return, then a few days later, either shut down their companies or sell them to him for ridiculously cheap prices, then donate the money to charity. Then they disappear from the radar. This is a pattern that had to be investigated. So the CIA sent in an agent. Just three days after she went undercover, she disappeared for a few days too. Then called saying that there was nothing wrong and that she was quitting the organisation. Same manner as the contractors. And this Mr Fartz dude, also has a lot of experience in robotics."  
Preston gasped, and he wasn't the only one.  
"You, you mean..." Nikki began, then trailed off.  
Neil gave a sad nod.  
"A pretty much confirmed theory is that they were all replaced with robots. Cyborgs, using actual human skin."  
"That's disgusting..." Preston gripped onto the nearest arm, making Max give a yelp of pain. "Like something out of sci-fi."  
"And the originals..." Nerris trailed off too. "The contractors... the agent-"  
"Our parents." Max said dimly.  
"Most likely dead." Neil muttered. "But, Max, how did you-"  
"Lucky guess. And it felt like there was something you weren't telling us." Max looked at the ground. "Our parents were taken by this guy and replaced by uninteractive droids!" He seemed to shrink inside his hoodie. "Leaving us to think our parens didn't give squat."  
"Well, in some cases..." Neil seemed to tready very carefully around his words. "The androids were updated in the programming. Your... parent's versions were older versions, we managed to figure out. Incapable of much interaction or emotion. The newest would probably be Space Kid's, as they could interact and carry out tasks."  
"We were observing all of the droids." Harrison muttered. "From a distance, or course."  
"That was our mission." Neil said softly. "To scatter ourselves around the area and observe possible replacements, try and figure out more about them. Nothing drastic. They used kids because that's less noticeable."  
"But why would they take our parents?" Nikki asked quietly. "My mum wasn't a rich contractor, she didn't even work!"  
Neil shrugged. "That's what we have to find out."  
Max stood.  
"Well, knock yourselves out." He said. "I gotta go... go find something-" He ran off down th hill without another word.  
Everyone exchanged glances.  
"He doesn't usually do that." Nikki murmured.  
"He'll need a moment." Preston said quickly. "I think-"  
Neil looked at his watch.  
"We should get going. It's getting dark."  
The figure of Max had disappeared from the horizon.  
"I'll find him." Offered Preston. He ran off after Max while the others began to pack up and chuck their litter into the boot of the car.  
Preston found Max sat on a rock, staring out across the city. He didn't seem to have noticed the other boy's presence.  
"Erm, hey, Max, we're sort of, preparing to leave now, so..." He trailed off. Max didn't seem to have heard. "Max?"  
"It looks so nice from up here, doesn't it?" Max muttered. "See?"  
Looking down at the city now, Preston couldn't help but agree.  
"It's like, when you see the thing as a whole, you don't notice the imperfections. The crazy robot adults. All the unhappy kids..." He trailed off.  
"So, your robot parents... couldn't do anything?" Preston found himself asking. "Couldn't... couldn't help?"  
"Nope." Max muttered. "From the age of ten I did everything."  
"Now everything about you makes sense." Preston muttered. "Always so..."  
"So what?" Max turned to him, snapping out of his trance. "Tell me Goodplay!"  
"Erm, so... so cool. Confident, but, in a way that radiates the message that you don't need anyone else." Preston tried to stop himself but couldn't. "That you seem to want to prove that you can do it alone."  
Max was silent for a moment, and Preston feared a slap in the face. But Max suddenly burst out laughing.  
"You look WAY too deep into this shit, Pressers!" He laughed. "So, your robot parents?"  
"Parents?" Preston scoffed. "Who are my parents? I don't know, you don't know! I only have Gram Gram, and she's so crazy I hardly noticed the difference! In fact, I don't think I noticed at all!"  
"Really? So you didn't feel like your whole world had changed? That the only people who you truly had and could trust, just turned their backs on you and left you to rot?! You didn't-" Max stopped.  
"Max?"  
"Let's go Preston." Max said, standing up. "The others are waiting."  
"No, wait, you..." Preston put a hand on his shoulder. "Max, you can just tell me stuff, if you-"  
"Shut up Preston." Max spat. "I don't need your pity." He turned to the city.  
"I DON'T NEED YOU!" He yelled. "GO FUCK YOURSELF!" He grabbed a stone and hurled it. It fell short by about twenty miles, but it seemed good enough for Max.  
He wouldn't return for his shit in the apartment. There was nothing there he cared for that was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you could leave comments, I would really appreciate that. It lets me know my work isn't in vain and people appreciate it. Thanks :)


	4. No fucking way!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids wake up in a strange place with strange T-shirts embodying a strange logo and meet some strange people. Including one guy who has a strange proposition to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another review? No fucking way? Thanks :)

Max had a headache. But he was comfortable, for some reason. The last thing he remembered was being squashed on the floor of the car, he was blacking out a little, he called Nikki's name, THOSE ROTTEN FILTHY CUNTS! They fucking DRUGGED him?! In the sandwiches, it had to be! But why, were they robots too, or lying about all this, or foreign spies?   
Max sat up, and groaned. His head didn't hurt as much as it had initially, but still it was annoying. Max rubbed his temples and looked around.  
He was in a largish room, lying in a comfortable bed. And just across from him was...  
A thirty five inch flatscreen TV.  
"No fucking way!" Max exclaimed.  
Underneath was a playstation, and next to that... A FREAKING MINI FRIDGE!  
"NO FUCKING WAY!" Max sat up, wondering if the fridge contained beer and if he had to pay for it.  
He then realised that, apart from boxers, he was naked.  
"No fucking way!" He squeaked, and jumped out of the bed and onto the floor, getting a good look around. The room was large and spacious, with a fancy IKEA wardrobe, desk and lamp, and a door that seemed to lead to an ensuite, he could see the edge of a bath and a toilet through the crack. Max forgot the beer for a moment and went over to the wardrobe, as his own clothes seemed to be missing.  
Inside it, he found a pair of hiking boots and some thick socks, combat trousers and a T shirt. Max took out the T shirt and examined it. It was white, a hated colour of his, but with a black logo on it, made up of black lines, making shapes. Underneath it were some words, no, letters. CUBS. So this was their headquarters?  
Max put the clothes on with a sigh and went over to the door. Whatever lay beyond it, he had to be ready for it.  
Throwing open the door, Max didn't know what to expect.  
Certainly not Nikki and Space Kid. But that was exactly what he got.  
"MAX!" He heard two people call his name and a turquoise blur pounced on him.   
"Argh, I didn't do it- NIKKI?!"  
"We found you!" Nikki cried. "I've been out here for ages, then he showed up," She gestured at Space Kid, stood off a couple of paces, who smiled and waved. "And now you're here!"  
"Um, OK..." Max stood up. "So, what is this place?"  
"I dunno." Space Kid said. "But we all have cool new T-shirts!" He tugged at his T-shirt, identical to Max's and Nikki's, only slightly smaller.  
"Look at the logo." Nikki pointed to her chest. "It looks like a claw, doesn't it?"  
Max shrugged. "So, this is the CUBS headquarters then? So where are the agents.  
A door opened to the left of Max's and a head stuck out, a familiar one.  
"Nerris!" Space Kid called. "Hi there!"  
"Oh, hey guys!" Nerris seemed relieved, and her ears were quite small looking. "What, what is this place?"  
"That's what we asked the guy who came by earlier." Space Kid commented.  
"Huh? What guy?"  
"Some little black dude with longish hair." Nikki said. "He passed by a minute or so before Max came out of that door-" She pointed to Max's door. "We asked him about it and he said something about not being able to talk because I'm white or some bullcrap."  
"Huh?" Max and Nerris looked at each other.  
"Oh look, here he comes again!" Space Kid pointed to a confused looking little black kid who got out of a lift at the end of the hallway. He wore a similar T-shirt to the rest of them, only his was red.  
"Oh, hey you!" Max called to him. "Do you think you could-"  
"Can't talk to a white!" The guy held up a hand as he walked past.  
"Erm, excuse me?" Max demanded, grabbing his shoulder. "When have I ever been white?!"  
"I mean the shirt, idiot." The kid said, shooting him a look.  
"Oh." Max let go of the kid, who swaggered past and knocked on a door down at the end of the hall.   
"Yo Petrol, Bonquisha wants us!"  
A door opened to Space Kid's left.   
"Preston!" Everyone called, making the already nervous boy, jump.  
"Oh, hey guys, hehe." He gave a feeble laugh.  
"Great, so the whole gang's here!" Max scowled, rubbing his arms. He felt self conscious without a jacket. "Come on guys, let's find the others."  
"Others?"  
"Ered, Neil, that lot. They'd fucking better have some answers."

It didn't actually take that long to find someone helpful. The group went to the lifts and selected a random number, which took them to a cafeteria, in which about a hundred and something kids, from little ten year olds to great hulking teenagers were being served breakfast, all wearing the T-shirts with the strange logo, only in different colours. No other whites.  
"I think the colours mean something." Nerris muttered. "Like rank, or skill level. And judging by how everyone's ignoring us-" She was jolted by a passing teen, who she glared at, but who didn't even look at her. "White is the bottom of the stack."  
Max scoffed. "Max Sharma is at the bottom of no one's totum pole. And I can't imagine someone keeping the rest of you lot down. Come on."  
He beckoned and marched over to the nearest table where a bunch of kids were all chatting about today's training, whatever that meant.  
"Yo little assholes!" Max slammed his fists onto the table so hard that a boy's plate jumped. "Have you seen a teenage girl, tall, purple streaks in the hair-"  
"Oh, you mean Ered-" The boy began, but a girl sat next to him gave him a dig in the ribs. "You idiot! Look at his T-shirt!"  
"What does- oh."  
"It's a fucking T-shirt!" Preston snapped. "I know you've seen her, we just want some answers! Um, please."  
"Yeah, show some respect." Space Kid crossed his arms, or, at least attempted to.  
"Can't talk to a-"  
"For fuck's sake!" Max grabbed the guy out of his seat by the front of his T-shirt. Nikki gave a squeal of excitement from behind him.  
"Oh yeah Max, take him!"  
"Max, no, put him down!" Nerris gasped. A couple of tables had noticed what was going on and muttering to themselves.  
"Where is Ered!" Max demanded. "Talk or I'll make you, I'm fed up of this bullcrap-"  
"Maxwell Sharma?" Max jumped and turned to see a tall, strong looking black woman stood behind him. "Put Greg down."  
"Finally, some FUCKING PROGRESS!" Max dropped the boy, Greg, to the floor. "So who are you then? Some kind of overgrown teenager?"  
The woman laughed. "If only. I'm Bonquisha. I assume you kids must be the new recruits that came in last night, I'd like you all to come with me."  
The kids looked at each other. Then followed, leaving the stricken cafateria staring after them. 

The six of them travelled in silence up in a lift, the kids confused, angry in Max's case, and Bonquisha revealing nothing. She lead them down a corridor of offices, a lot busier than the bedroom corridor had been. Eventually, they stopped outside a plain wooden door.  
The nameplate simply read: Chairman.  
"After you." Bonquisha gave a sly smile. Max took a deep breath, and resumed his scowl, pushing open the door with his usual snappy demeanour.  
Inside there was a large wooden desk, and behind it, a tall, strong looking man in a suit and sunglasses. And on a chair towards the side-  
"Oh hey guys. I was wondering when you would show up." Ered gave a casual wave.  
"Bonquisha?" The man gave a frown. "You know the protocol for new recruits."  
"This one," Bonquisha clapped a huge hand onto Max's shoulder. "Was about to shake some answers out of a younger agent in the cafateria. I didn't want to leave them to it."  
"I see." The guy gave a nod. "Well, I suppose that is out of them window then, welcome, children, to the CUBS headquarters."  
"Oh, do we get answers now?" Max sat down on one of the five chairs that had been strategically placed in front of the desk. "Well nce to meet you, whoever you are, but I don't appreciate being drugged and waking up naked and hungry in someone else's BED!"  
"Yeah, we're kind of confused about all this." Preston also took a seat.  
"Well, prepare to have your questions answered." The guy gave them a small smile. "Before we begin, I am Sir Simon Miller, assistant chairman of CUBS. And I know you've met my daughter, Meredith." He gestured towards Ered, who scowled.   
"It's Ered, dad!"  
"Whatever sweetheart." Simon turned his attention back to the kids in front of him. "I presume, Neil, Preston, Maxwell, Niccolette-"  
"Nikki!" Nikki corrected. "Erm, sir."   
"Yeah, and it's Max."  
"Right, sorry Max and Nikki. And you must be Nerris."  
Nerris gave a small nod.  
"Right, so what have you already been told about this place?" Simon asked.  
"That it's where kid agents train?" Nerris said.  
"And the food smells really good!" Nikki exclaimed.  
"It's a home." Max said with very little emotion. "A place where kids who are more than normal go to be among those like themselves, and do something useful."  
Simon snapped his fingers. "Yes. Exactly Max. Kids who are more than normal. Kids who are stronger, faster, smarter and quicker thinkers than anyone else their age. Like my daughter over there." He gestured to Ered, who was jamming out to music.  
"The point being, it is my job to look for kids just like that. Kids..." He grinned. "Like you."  
The five of them gasped. Even Ered took her earbud out to listen.  
"Us, like, agents?!" Preston exclaimed.  
"Train to be... super spies?!" Nerris gasped.  
"Like those awesome, life saving, cool kids!" Space Kid grinned. "Awesome!"  
Nikki was about to stand up in her chair and cheer, when she noticed Max looking at the ground.  
"Hey Max, aren't you excited? This is AWESOME!"  
Max looked surprised, but frowned. "Isn't it a little suspicious? I mean, look at us! I'm difficult, you have behaviour problems, Space Kid's dumb as shit, Preston's no badass and Nerris... well she's OK actually." Nerris frowned, overhearing. Max turned to Simon. "What makes you want us in on this action?"  
"Good point Max." Simon gave a nod. "But model children aren't what we're looking for here at CUBS. We want difficult kids." He seemed to wink at Max from behind his glasses. "Kids who are little on the wild side," He looked at Nikki. "But still respectful and good at acting." He looked at Preston, who smiled and opposite of modestly. "And with hidden intelligence." He looked at Space Kid.  
"Almost identical eclipses occur after 18 years and 11 days. This period of 223 synodic months is called a saros." Space Kid receipted, then grinned. "I'm not dumb about space."  
"Hidden intelligence indeed!" Max scoffed. "He never shuts up about space."  
"So, are we going to be agents now?" Nerris asked. "Is there, like, forms to sign."  
"Well, yes." Simon nodded. "But also, you have to pass certain tests before passing basic training, which is a nightmare, so I've heard, and it's not easy to get through. You'll have to be strong, resilient and have a tolerance to mud and assholes."  
Max scoffed. "Ha. Sounds like my morning routine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the visitor's T-shirt is orange in the books, but I changed all the colours of the T-shirts for this fic. That'll be explained later.


	5. Tested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The five kids nervously undertake the enrolment tests for CUBS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait, but I got a horrific writer's block and I was also very busy with school and other projects. Nevertheless, it's here now!

The enrolment tests came in five stages, each one as confusing as the next. First it was a standard intelligence test, maths, English, science, IQ tests, the usual shit. Nikki usually would have struggled, messed around or not tried, but this was a test she cared about. She wanted to be part of this organisation, badass like Neil and Ered, even if it was hard. So she slaved her way through it, and was pretty sure she'd done OK. Looking at the others, she saw a mix of laziness (mainly from Max) confusion and confidence.  
"Aced it." A satisfied looking Preston whispered to himself, closing his test paper with a smile. He earned himself quite a lot of glares, but he was known for being overdramatic and probably hadn't done as well as he thought.

Next the kids were led outside to an agility course. This was Nikki's game, she felt a grin rise up on her face whereas Preston groaned.  
"Fuck." He muttered. The instructor just gave a sly smile.  
"You're all going one at a time. I'll time you, and not completing it isn't an option. Even if you have to crawl." Hr grinned. "Who's first."  
"Might as well set the bar high." Nikki said with a grin, flexing her fingers out.  
Two minutes later she was muddy and breathless, but happy. Her four teammates goggled. The instructor actually looked impressed.  
"I sincerely fucking hope you pass these tests, little lady, because you would ace basic training better than I've seen in ten years." He laughed. "Who's up next?"  
Ten minutes later, Preston crawled over the last obstacle and landed face down in the mud with a groan.   
"OK, you kids are quite the range, because that might be the worst performance I've seen in ten years!" The instructor laughed.

The next test was a simple room with a matted floor.   
"Ooh, a training dojo." Nerris muttered happily. It certainly seemed so.   
The opponent stood in front of the five kids with a confident smile. He was almost six feet tall, very muscular and towered over the puny selection in front of him.  
"This is Stephen Van Petrol." The instructor said. "He's not a great conversationalist, but he's got a black belt in six martial arts and he's an absolute warrior machine. I'd like to see a crime boss take HIM down!" He laughed.  
"And we have to fight... him!" Max's voice seemed a lot squeakier than normal.  
"Oh don't be ridiculous. Not all at once, that would be a mess! Who's first?"  
"My time has come!" Nerris whispered.  
It turned out, an actual fists duel was a lot different from mock fighting with your dad and video games, but to Nerris, the principle was the same. A small, speedy elf warrior tackling an overgrown ogre. Nerris dodged punches and rolled across the floor, springing up and landing a neat kick on the back of Petrol's head. Petrol grunted angrily and whirled around, grabbing hold of Nerris's ankle and slamming her onto the floor. Nerris growled and jumped, a little shakily, onto her feet.  
"You ready for more?!" She snapped.  
"I think that's enough for now." The instructor called. "Who's next."  
No one else could even lay a finger on Petrol, not even Nikki. Black eyes and bloody noses later, everyone was ready to move on.

This is harder than I thought it would be!" Space Kid sighed, rubbing his head. "Very hard. What a headache!"  
"What do you expect?" Max snapped. "This isn't a game, this is life or death."  
"Ooh, like space."  
"No, you... urgh!" The six of them had arrived at the next test. A large pool filled with different colour rubber balls.  
"You each have a bucket." The instructor said lazily, sitting down with another cigarette. "Whoever gets the most points wins. Blue balls are worth five points. Red are ten. Black are fifty."  
He waved an arm.  
"Go."  
"Wait, fully clothed?" Preston asked, but Space Kid had already dived in.  
"Zero G environment!" The young boy shrieked. Max groaned.  
"I hate this already!"  
The test was mostly the kids splashing around and fighting each other (Nikki kept biting people to get their balls). But by the end, the five kids stood soaking by their buckets. The instructor quickly counted up the balls.  
"From loser to winner," He said with a sly smile. "Preston, Max, Nerris, Nikki and Neil!" Space Kid grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet.  
"Oh yeah! Space training!"  
Max rolled his eyes.

Finally, the last test came around. The five of them were lead into a little room with a table. On the table was a cage and in that cage was a chicken.  
"Aww." Nikki smiled. "Look at it's little beak! Now that could peck your eyes out!"  
"Yes, if you gave it a chance." The instructor nodded smugly.  
"So... what? Do we have to butcher this thing?" Max asked. The instructor laughed.  
"Of course not!" Nikki let out a sigh of relief. "You just have to kill it."  
Everyone but Max stopped dead.  
"What!" Nikki gasped. "I, I can't kill that! It's so CUTE!"  
"Yeah, I had chickens before I moved into those flats!" Nerris exclaimed.  
"Well, one chicken, five of you. Fight it out."  
"No need sir." Max grinned, reaching into the cage and, before Nikki could bite his ankle, he snapped the chicken's neck. "What's next?"  
"You monster!" Nikki muttered crossly.

"You've all done exceptionally well." Simon Miller said with a smile.   
"So, did we get in?" Nikki asked eagerly.  
"I shall have to meet with the executive board to decide that," The kids groaned. "But in the meantime, I've had a good meal brought to your rooms. Bonquisha will escort you back. Rest up, I shall see you in the morning."  
That night, Nikki struggled to sleep. Sure, it was the comfiest bed she’d ever slept in and she was tired from the day’s activities, but she was too nervous to sleep. Suppose everyone else got into CUBS and she was left all alone without any friends. Sure, they’d set her up in a good foster home, but she’d have to make friends again from scratch. And she wasn’t much good at making friends , she was too ‘wild’. And what about the foster parents? Would she be too wild for them?  
Nikki sat up and gathered the borrowed pyjamas around her. She slid off the double bed and tiptoed across the room towards the door. She opened it softly. The hallway was dark and empty except for one person. Nikki jumped and got into a fighter’s stance, but it was just Space Kid. She let out a sigh of relief.  
“You too huh?” The small boy asked. Nikki nodded.   
“I can’t sleep. I’m just really worried about tomorrow.”  
“Oh you’ll get in for sure.” Space Kid reassured her. “The instructor liked you, you can fight and run and do all that stuff. I can just swim and dodge stuff.”  
“But the written exam!” Nikki argued. “I’m terrible at that sort of stuff, I can’t sit still.”  
“Neither can I, I can’t focus.” Space Kid shuffled from one foot to the other in his oversized pyjamas. “Nikki, do you think our real parents are alive somewhere?”  
Nikki had to think about this for a few seconds, she hadn’t really considered it a possibility. But Space Kid’s earnest and worried face made her consider the possibility that her mum could be imprisoned somewhere, waiting for her…  
“No.” She sighed. “No I don’t.” Space Kid looked at the ground.  
“It’s OK.” Nikki quickly reassured him. “I don’t anyone here but Ered has parents anyway. And we can be your family now.”  
Space Kid smiled. He knew Nikki would never ignore him, or yell at him to go play somewhere else. She was actually a lot nicer than his parents had been. They’d always been too busy to play with him, but Nikki never was.  
“Nikki?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”  
Nikki smiled. “Of course. Just don’t roll over onto me, I bite.”

The next morning came round a lot faster than anyone expected. The five of them all had a quick breakfast in silence, then were escorted to Simon's office. They all looked nervously at the chairman, but his face gave nothing away.  
"Take a seat." He gestured to the row of chairs. The five of them sat. Simon took a deep breath.  
"The first test. General knowledge, all agents need a good intelligence level and need to be able work hard. All of you have proven to be around average intelligence, exceeding his level in some parts, Neil's science, Preston's essay, Max's IQ... There are some areas for development, particularly foreign languages. Nothing that basic training can't fix though. You all did acceptably well on the first stage."  
They all let out sighs of relief.  
"Now the agility and sparring rounds." Preston winced. "There were a few of you who stood out quite well in this section, particularly Nikki and Nerris. Most of you completed the course in an acceptable time for children who are unlikely to have done anything like that before. In the sparring round, Nerris, you showed a burning desire to defeat your enemy even though he was twice your height and three times your weight." Nerris smiled. "This is a dangerous attitude for an actual battle, and it could easily get you killed in a real world situation" Nerris bit her lip.  
"However, Preston was quick to submit when he knew he was out of his depth, which is a smart move if you want to survive." Preston smiled smugly at Nerris, who glared at him.  
"What about the chicken test?" Max asked. "What was that about?"  
"That was a test of how sternly you would stick to your morales and if you would let people deter you or not." Simon said with a smile. "All of you did very well in that test, no one let themselves be bullied into killing the chicken, and the chicken ended up dead on Max's own terms. Very well done."  
"So?" Preston asked nervously. They were all on the edge of their seats. Simon smiled.  
"I'll end the suspense. Bonquisha?" The muscular woman came over with a package. Simon opened it and took out five pink T-shirts, each one emblazoned with the CUBS logo and a number. On the back they all said CUBS AGENT – BASIC TRAINING.  
"Congratulations guys." Simon said with a smile. "Welcome to CUBS."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I changed the T-shirts colours completely, and they'll have some arguments to the colour next chapter! :)


	6. Basic Briefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max's group mentally and physically attempt to prepare themselves for basic training. Meanwhile, there is a lot Ered's group haven't told them about their involvement in Fartz's plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't updated in forever, but the updates may appear a little faster from now on, as the plot starts to kick off in this chapter.

"Pink Tees? Really?" Nikki made a face, holding the item at arm's length. "I haven't touched pink since I was a baby!"

This had been everyone's initial opinion when faced with the shirt, apart from the fact that all their hard work had paid off and they were allowed to train for CUBS. But they had saved their disagreement for the colour sceme for later when the five of them holed up in Nerris's room to talk things through.

"I know." Max commented, his T-shirt thrown carelessly into a corner in his own room. "This better be the fucking opportunity of a lifetime."

"According to what Simon said, it probably will be." Preston was examining his own T-Shirt with interest. "We get prepared for the best colleges in the COUNTRY! The pocket money is insane! And taught by some of the best teachers who can get us the best grades! Provided we make it through basic training, this is going to be the best thing that ever happens to us."

"Yeah. Provided we make it through." Max said. The kids remembered the looks they had gotten from qualified agents as they made their ways back to their rooms while carrying their new pink shirts. The comments they wer enow able to provide.

"Oh you kids are going DOWN in basic training!"  
"Worst seven weeks of my life!"  
"I got a killer scar from my time there, wanna see?"

None of them were particularly looking forward to it. Not even Max.

Nerris sighed. "Come on, let's get some sleep. Basic training starts in three days and we want to brush up on our weaknesses before we start. I wanna start swimming early tomorrow, anyone else in?"

"Ooh, me!" Space Kid grinned. "I could coach you!"

Max laughed. "I'll be there, even if it requires getting up before eight, I wanna see this go down!"

"Six O'clock, sharp, both of you!" Nerris decreed, standing up. "Now off my bed, I'm going to rest before the adventure that tomorrow will surely bring!" The kids shifted themselves off Nerris's bed, rubbing stiff limbs and yawning.

"Guys?" Space Kid said with a small yawn. "Do you think we could become a team, you know, like Ered's group?"

"Perhaps." Preston said with a smile. "I'd like that."

The rest of them gave sleepy nods in agreement.

"Then what's our team name gonna be?" Nikki asked. "Ooh, I know. Quest Partol Alpha!"

"No." The rest of them said in unison. 

"We'll work on that later." Max said.

...

As (name still in progress) Quest Patrol Alpha went to their beds with heads filled with excitement and worry for the training ahead, the team they had been inspired by had nothing of the sort on their minds. Ered stood nervously outside her father's office, Nurf, Harrison, Dolph and Neil standing by her side. They were all equally nervous to present their current progress in their mission. 

"Do you think," Harrison said in a shakey voice. "We'll be in trouble for bringing in the new recruits when we should have been escaping ourselves. If we had died in there, CUBS might well have been shut down!"

"They all passed the tests." Ered told him. "I'm sure they're not mad about that, but..." She sighed. "The kids got away in a state of the art car that they wouldn't know how to drive. Fartz's men will know someone was helping them." She tooked towards her teammates. "And we still have no idea why he wanted to get his hands on those kids so badly! Why he kept them under observation for so long?"

"You don't think..." Nurf paled. "They could be androids too!"

The group was silent for a moment, considering the horrifying possibility.

"Impossible." Neil stated after a long pause. "They couldn't have completed robots sophisticated enough to have legitimate emotions or to supress the self defence feature. Not in this century."

"Could have been a trick?" Harrison offered. "In order to get us to take them to our base."

Everyone shot him looks.

"Harrison, all you're doing is making my anxieties worse." Nurf said with folded arms. "No, I think we did the right thing in bringing them here, they would have been captured or killed otherwise."

"Captured most likely." Ered reminded him. "We found those files on them in Fartz's office in the early stages of the mission, it's what made us move to those stinking apartments in the first place!"

"Do you thvink ve did ze right thing, not telling zhem everything?" Dolph struggled to get the sentence out in his broken English, but it sent a chill down Ered's spine.

"Yes." She said firmly. "Who would want to know that the person who murdered your parents is interested in you?"

"Zat is literally my origin story." Dolph said with folded arms. Ered sighed and was about to respond, when another voice cut through.

"Discussing classified mission details in an open corridor, really Ered? I would have thought we taught you better than that." Ered jumped and turned around to see Simon standing outside his office with a smile.

"Dad!" She said happily. "Erm, how long were you listening?"

"Long enough." The head of CUBS replied. "Come on in everyone, we have a lot to talk about."

The five of them nervously took their seats in front of Simon's desk. Simon sat casually behind it.

"You know the drill." He said, his face shifting into an expert poker face. "Mission progress. Hit me."

Neil cleared his throat and brought out his laptop, resting it on his lap.

"We successfully spent a few months in the same apartment complex as the majority of the androids created by Fartz." He said,, his fingers resting on the keys. "We had previously discovered files with details on five children, specifically the ones who passed the CUBS training today. There were no intentions on the subjects labelled, but they all lived in the same building. One of us in each apartment building in the complex, keeping an eye on the drones, Ered chose to be the one who moved into the building with the five targets, strategically choosing a place that was within hearing range of all five apartments."

Simon gave a nod, listening intently. "Go on. What did you discover while undercover?"

"Not a great deal." Neil admitted. "The androids mainly all lived alone in the apartments owned by Fartz. They rarely left. We all managed to make excuses to visit at least one of their homes and plant bugs and cameras, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I do believe Dolph and Harrison managed to break into some apartments while the owners weren't in and remain there to hide. Again, nothing unusual, while there was no one else there the androids would just pace up and down their kitchens."

"Risky." Simon commented. "Go on."

"Forty eight hours before the androids attacked the children, the cameras went dead. All at once, and the bugs. It was too suspicious, so we tried to pull together our research. We had just come to a conclusion when we recived an urgent message from you, Mr Miller, saying other operatives had discovered a suspicious gathering downtown and we had to investigate that."

Behind the sunglasses, Simon blinked in surprise.

"I never sent you a message." He said in a cautious tone. Neil nodded.

"Ered figured that out pretty quickly. It was obvious someone had discovered that we were secret agents. Ered told us to go to our apartments, pack everything and meet her back here. We sent a message back to campus saying we had to abort the mission."

"We recived that." Simon said with a nod. "But who know if our signal was private? Someone must have hacked it in order to send you that message."

"We know." Neil said. "I had just finished packing, and was about to leave for Ered's place when the androids went crazy and attacked. We all managed to get out, thanks to Nurf's mad skills, and rescued two of the children, Nerris Cattouack and Preston Goodplay. Ered met us with Nicolette Van Barra and Maxwell Sharma, and Dolph caught Neil Armstrong Jr as he fell from a three storey window. We managed to get them out of there and arrived back at campus."

Simon nodded. "And a good thing too. But you mentioned that you had pulled together your research and reached a conclusion of sorts. What was it?"

Neil cleared his throat a little. "Well, we figured out that, apart from some bedroom rearrangement, all of the apartments follow the same simple structure in building, a common factor among many apartment complexes. You open the door into a small kitchen, with three other rooms off to the side and a bathroom leading off the kitchen. Most of the three other rooms went unused with the androids, but when we visited, they stood firmly in front of the bathrooms, not allowing us in. The pacing around the kitchen, it was all guarding the bathrooms. We had no cameras in there, that must be where they were hiding anything important."

Simon nodded, his face giving nothing away. "And when Dolph and Harrison visited alone?"

"Locked." Harrison said. "From the outside."

"No ordinary bathroom." Simon murmured. "Obviously these rooms will need to be investigated, but by you? The androids have seen your faces by now, I shall have to consult with the board. In a few hours, I'll have reached a conclusion. Come back at six in the morning and I'll have an answer for your next stage of mission."

The kids nodded. "Thank you sir." Neil folded up his laptop again. They were about to leave when Simon said something else.

"Ered, can you hang back for a second? I want to talk to you."

Ered gave a small wave to her comrades as they headed off and sat down again in front of her father.

"I know you want to be the one to continue this mission." Simon began. "But it has become too dangerous for a child agent, I'm afraid."

Ered stiffened. "What do you mean?" She demanded. "I am perfectly capable of completing, I mean my team-"

"That's just it." Simon cut her off. "This mission is getting personal to you. And with fierce determination to win... comes flaws."  
Ered's fists clenched under the table and she scowled at her father.

"Are you saying I'm FLAWED?!" She demanded. Simon removed his sunglasses, revealing startled eyes. "Are you saying I can't complete this mission because of what happened to my father? Why should that have anything to do with anything?! I want to see Fartz in jail, that's all!"

Simon frowned. "I raised you, Ered. I know you better."

Ered slammed her hand on the table, standing up. "No you don't! You're the fucking chairman of a top secret organisation, you work with the government! I hardly ever saw you or dad growing, some stupid volunteer agents raised me!"

"Meredith-"

"You don't know me at all." Ered growled. "Or you would know that I don't give up that easily."

And with that, Ered slammed out of the office.

...

"Hey guys." Space Kid waved brightly as Nikki and Preston sat down at their breakfast table at Seven O'clock. Nikki looked ecstatic, Preston looked completely worn down.

"The hell happened to you?" Max asked, taking a bite of sausage. It was good sausage too, not like the crappy school dinner ones he used to have. This place had the best food!

"Nikki insisted on putting me through the training course again." Preston muttered, rapidly consuming food. "I'm starved and muddy and exhausted."

"Oh come on!" Nikki exclaimed. "It was fun!"

"Not to me." Preston wiped his mouth. "So, how was swim training?"

"In a word, dry." Max commented. It was a few seconds before anyone got his joke.

"Hey you guys." The kids at the table looked round to see Neil, holding a tray, the other members of his team in the background getting served. "Mind if we join you?"

"Sure, come on over!" Nikki said brightly. "Join the den of CRAZY!"

Max rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." He said. "Ignore her." Neil nodded and sat down across from Preston, not far enough from Nikki for his liking. They were quickly joined by the rest of the team, all looking hungry.

"How come it's just us?" Max asked. "I didn't think anyone else would be up this early."

"We wouldn't usually be." Harrison explained. "But we just got out briefing on the next stage of our mission. We're heading out again, giving it three weeks for the androids and stuff to calm down, then-"

"Mission discretion, Harrison." Ered reminded him. She seemed a lot less talkative this morning, staring into her oatmeal with a frown.

"So you're going again in three weeks?" Nikki asked. "Cool, can we come?"

Neil laughed. "You'll be up to your armpits in basic training by then, even Nikki. And mud. Up to your armpits in mud."

Preston shuddered.

"Is it really that bad?" He asked nervousy.

"For some people." Dolph commented, trying to keep his accent under control. "Some find it much easier than others. I myself, only completed it sechs months ago. Two attempts because I am a lot smaller than some."

Space Kid mentally measured their heights and felt his nerves increase.

"But some people triumph in basic training, like I did." Nurf told them. "Either way, you're all gonna be agents."

Nikki rubbed her hands together.

"Oh I am going to DESTROY basic training!" She declared.

"Either that or basic training will destroy you." Nurf reminded her.</

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think? I'm actually quite proud of that, but I would like to hear other people's opinions. Thank you for reading and I will have the next chapter whenever I can :)


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